1. ENGLISH 283
Research for Creative Writing I

2. The Research Process
Ask a
Question
Brainstorm
Background
Information
Search
Evaluate
Results

3. Ask a Question
Research starts with Curiosity
What do you want to know?
May start with a general question
Ex. What would life have been like for a young woman immigrating to
New York from Ireland during the Great Famine?

4. Ask a
Question
Brainstorm
Background
Information
Search
Evaluate
Results

5. Brainstorm Related Terms and
Ideas
Pick out the key ideas in your
topic/question
Try to think of synonyms or
alternate phrasing
List any related terms
(broader/narrower) you can
think of
Ireland | Irish | Éire | Gaelic |
County Cork, etc.
Great Famine | Potato
Famine | an Gorta Mór (“the
Great Hunger”) | an
Drochshaol (“the bad life”)
New York | Ellis Island | Five
Points
Immigration | Emigration
1845 – 1852

6. Ask a
Question
Brainstorm
Background
Information
Search
Evaluate
Results

7. Initial Search for Background
Information
Read for general information on your topic
Identify gaps in your existing knowledge
Narrow and focus your research
Sources
Encyclopedias and other Reference Books
Skim a Book on the general topic
Web Search

8. Ask a
Question
Brainstorm
Background
Information
Search
Evaluate
Results

9. Define a Search Strategy
Articulate what you need to know
Determine where/how you are most likely to find it
If you don’t know, ASK!

10. Types of Information Sources
 Primary Sources
Information in its original form when it first appears
 Secondary Sources
Restates, rearranges, examines, or interprets information from one or more
primary sources
 Tertiary Sources
Leads you to secondary sources

11. Primary Sources
 Has not been published anywhere else or put into a context, interpreted, filtered,
condensed, or evaluated by anyone else
 Examples
A speech, lecture, or presentation
Writing by the witnesses of an event, person, or place
 Newspaper articles
 A diary or journal
 Letters, correspondence, or transcribed conversations
Artwork, poetry, and other artistic expressions
An original scientific study
Historical documents or publications
 The U.S. Constitution

12. Secondary Sources
 Has been removed from its original source and repackaged
 Examples
Notes or summary of a speech, lecture, or presentation
Book or journal article analyzing an historical person or event and attempting
to put it in context
Critic’s response to artwork, poetry, and other artistic expressions
Encyclopedia article on a topic
Newspaper article reporting on a scientific study published elsewhere
 May also lead you to primary information
Bibliography or index of primary sources

13. Tertiary Sources
 Commonly used to identify and locate secondary sources
 Examples
Bibliography of critical works about a person, period, work, or other topic
Index to secondary sources
 Index to journal, magazine, or newspaper articles
 Library catalog

14. Timeline of Primary and
Secondary Sources

15. Where Do I Find…
Primary Sources
Library’s Catalog
Library’s Databases
 ARTstor
Print Indexes
Archives
Historical Societies
Manuscript Collections
Museums
Embedded in Secondary Sources
Secondary Sources
Library’s Catalog
Library’s Databases
PsychINFO
ERIC
MLA International Bibliography
Print Indexes

16. Creative Writing Research Guide
http://libguides.sdstate.edu/creativewriting

17. Ask a
Question
Brainstorm
Background
Information
Search
Evaluate
Results

18. Evaluate Your Results
Did you find an answer to your research question?
Yes – Is the answer useful for your research project?
 Fact vs. Opinion
 Sufficient detail?
No – Re-evaluate your search strategy and try something different

19. Repeat?
Research is an iterative
process
Finding the answer to
your initial question may
raise new, more
interesting questions
Ask a
Question
Brainstorm
Background
Information
Search
Evaluate
Results

20. Ask a Question
Original Question
What would life have been like
for a young woman immigrating
to New York from Ireland during
the Great Famine?
Focus and Narrow
What would have been popular
or common knowledge?
Stories and Tales
Flowers
Clothes
Occupations